Government has high hopes for Mid 2016 Spectrum Sale

The Indian Communications minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad has stated that the government is looking forward to attaining the same success that it had achieved through spectrum auctions last year.He remarked that just like last year, the auction will happen in an open and transparent way and as they had managed to raise Rs 1.1 lakh crore the past year, similar results are expected this year too. This was pointed out by the minister post the TRAI recommening the sale of more than 2,000MHz spectrum which is spread across seven telecom bands. This includies the high-potential but yet untested 700MHz frequency as well. The mobile operators are worried about the proposed auctions and especially regarding the sale of 700 MHz band where pan India reserve price has been capped at Rs.11,500 crore per permegahertz. The CEO of Bharti Airtel, Gopal Vittal, has already said that it is very expensive and unaffordable.The minister gave his assurance on the issue of call drops by stating that the government is keeping a close eye on the quality of the mobile service offered to consumers and will not hesitate in case more is needed to be done.